Go on, Give a little bit of your love today!

i don't know how I missed this. thanks to my mom for sharing it with me. 
I. LOVE. this video and had to share it and give a little love to you all. 

today marks the beginning of the last week of the Mommy Shorts and belle&beanzer instagram contest! winners will be announced next friday!! watch this video, get inspired to give a little of your love, go be a little love photo journalist and inspire others to share their love themed photos as well!

click here for Mommy Shorts blog post with info about the contest and the belle&beanzer baby clothes gift set prize. 

because I'm feeling so giving of my love today, here is the entry info, below: 

qll entries must be uploaded to Instagram with the hashtag #instashorts_love and tagging @belleandbeanzer. also, and this is important, you must follow both @mommyshorts and @belleandbeanzer to win.

every Friday, Mommy Shorts will feature her four favorite photographs posted to the #instashorts_love hashtag. this way you will find some really inspiring mom and dad photographers to follow.

the winner of the prize will ultimately be selected at random. 

the contest is open internationally (YAY!), you can tag up to one image a day (new or old shots accepted) and one winner will be announced on Friday, March 1st.

both mommy shorts and I have a very fancy live feed of the contest posted here and here. 

last but not least, belle&beanzer is offering a 20% discount to anyone who does not like their odds in the contest :)

ok, go now... go watch the video below, take photos, and enter the instagram contest. we cannot wait to see!! 

xoxo

get.in.here. - instagram contest with giveaway!

get.in.here. art as featured on our baby girl romper 

just a little sneak preview for what is ahead next week.

we are super excited and honored to have been asked to participate as the prize
for an instagram photo contest via one of our favorite blogs we follow!

SO EXCITED! 

your creative eye. your share. your win. 

wait for it...all starts on Monday!

have a great weekend!

xoxo

embracing surprises: finding a little love every day

I only saw the side sticking out, but I knew immediately what the shape was.
My little love rock was waiting in the sand for me during my beach walk this week. 

happy labor day! 

xoxo

Sometimes I need to get hit over the head

Yesterday on the way home from the beach, Ava put her head on my shoulder, and asked if she could just relax the next day with me.

Ok, sure...

Last night, when andrew and I were out for our date, she told her grandparents she was going to spend the next day relaxing with mommy.

Aww, ok, so sweet...

This morning, she came in our bedroom, curled up in bed with me and asked if we were going to spend the day relaxing together.

Yes, sweet girl...

She then spent the morning climbing all over me, insisted I help her with everything, whined, and carried on.

"Ugh," I thought, "the beach honeymoon is over."

I knew what to do!
GET. OUT. OF. THE. HOUSE.

When, I announced we were all going to head into town, Ava's face fell, she cried and started a fight with her brother.

A teeth gritting, shoulder hunching "nooooooo" wailed throughout the house.

I'll admit I was very confused.
And frustrated.
And annoyed.

So, I stopped. Everything. I scooped that girl up and held her. And listened and finally heard what I had not been able to hear for 24 hours.

She wanted down time. With me. Just mommy and Ava.

So we got ready for a girls day on the town. We put on special outfits, did our hair, a little mascara and lip gloss.

Undivided girl time.
She had been telling me all along.

Sometimes I need to get hit over the head!

What can you discover?

It's 5 days into the season of love, and we are not done yet!

Don't loose steam, go big with love this weekend!!

Maybe your circumstances aren't ideal right now or this weekend, I myself am cuddling
my sick baby, and our weekend adventure with our family to Vermont is off.
But, don't let that be an excuse. Instead, let it be your motivation to
embrace your moments where & when you can, and enjoy them fully!

Below is a page from my daughter's art journal. This was the first art project she started
on her own. She's been drawing pictures ranging from exotic animals, to fantasy narratives,
to her ever day - her home and family, and writing descriptions to them.
Every page in a while, there is a little note, like this one below.

Out of the mouths of babes, adventure is in the eyes of the beholder!!

What can you discover??

Have a beautiful weekend!!

Love, me

lots of love

We like to call our favorite events "seasons" in my family. We all enjoy a good birthday season lasting approximately a full month. No kidding! I know Valentine's Day is over commercialized. But, conceptually, I love a day devoted to love. Because I don't think we should be limited to one day, ~ although it serves as a good reminder when we realize, once again, how good it feels to give and get waves of love ~ I'm calling it…this week it's the season of love. 

What do you love??

this man.

Where would I be without this man? My partner in making dreams come true.

these babies.

They teach me more about the person I am, and want to be, than anyone or anything.

this spoon.

Purchased 15 years ago!! Little friend has lost prongs, and is covered in heat scars. I've searched for replacements and come up empty. Just might be the last spoon of it's kind. On earth. I'll probably be unable to part with it at this point, anyhow. We've come through too much together. On diets, off diets, dinners alone, dinner dates, family dinners. I. Love. You. Pasta Spoon!

this necklace.

Bought by myself, for myself, after Ava was born. I read an article @ the designer,
HollyMariejewelry, and fell in love. When Jonah was born, I sent it back to her to add him.
This is my favorite piece of jewelry I own. People always stop me and ask where I got it, &
when Ava has tough day, she asks me to wear it, so she is close to my heart. Can't beat that. 

this coffee.

Their Kona Blend might be the best coffee I've ever had.

this picture.

This pic is on  my personal vision board on  pinterest. I just don't get tired of looking at it. 

this place.

 Sunset @ Madaket beach, Nantucket, ma. we fell in love here. we were engaged here. our family grew here.
It has one of the best sunsets you will find anywhere. All you have to do is walk on over and enjoy.
photo: wonderground

this nail polish.

my glitter girl got it from somewhere :) this is from butter london. color is all hail the queen.

this bear

I've always had a thing for bears.  I love this big guy. artist sarah maycock.  

this quote

very inspired by this quote right now as a mother and an entrepreneur.
author unknown

To you. With love, from me.

"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart.
It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul."

~Judy Garland, actress

…11:58pm 2/13/12…

red feathers, enough said

…12:01am 2/14/12…

from one heart to another

…nourishing our family…

surprise chocolate chip heart pancakes for my family

…I love you + you love me = we love chocolate…

win-win, really. Ava picked this out for her dad

…Love, our family…

first EVER family breakfast before school and work

…Love, Ava…

her vday cards for school. I forgot to take a pic. PS recreation is lacking.
They were SO cute!

…Love, Jonah…

I had other plans. He saw these, and it was all over. 

…Love, me

Wishing you love, this day and every day!

I love you a lot...meto!

Yup, my girl is a full blown glitter girl who likes to climb mountains in a tutu and jewelry.

She is THE BEST!

We were trying out her new glitter markers. How awesome is it to be a parent and have access to loads of arts and craft materials with no real "project" in mind?? The whole goal is to experiment and draw things that make you smile. just have fun. Such a good reminder as a parent, and as I develop artwork for the line. I was doodling around, and drew this little picture for her…

Do you think she loved it? Her name in glittery purple? Hearts, flower and dots?

She surprised me with a surprise drawing for me in return…

Meto = Me too. She's learning to spell and doing a wonderful job!

After I cleared the lump from my throat, I was looking at the two pictures, and really seeing how she was reflecting and answering me. meto…meto…meto…I couldn't help think how it's so true in all aspects of life. You get what you put into it. It's been a goal of mine to build an active social media life around belle&beanzer before the line launches. 

On that note, I've been busy building all the in-roads to belle&beanzer business, and I'm finally connecting them. belleandbeanzer.com is up and has a friendly little welcome message directing traffic to my blog, for now. Soon…soon…soon… a website grand opening. Yaaay!

After much trial and error,  I was able to add follow me buttons for my pinterest board, twitter and… wait for it…facebook business page. TADA!! That's the reveal of the week! All pages link back to each other, and the links work. That was a really big deal for me.

Just ask some of my friends I've been pestering for help…

~THANK YOU~ Lisa, Learn from Lisa, and Kim, Design Thoughts!!

Another big moment of the week was calling Playtime to register for information for the fall show which will be previewing spring 2013. My. First. Tradeshow!!!

I was SO excited when I made the call, I was a little bit gushing. I think I actually said,

"I'm in-love with the line." Which is 100% true. The reflection? The answer?

REAL INTEREST

wow, what a moment!